Programme

Streams

Sessions

May 07Tuesday

Stream IDs:

7194

07:20

Networking

Golf with the Singapore Press Club

Join members of the Singapore Press Club, led by Club President Patrick Daniel, and locally-based Ambassadors and diplomats for their early-morning quarterly game at Keppel Golf Club before Publish Asia/Newsroom Summit Asia! (more...)

Stream IDs:

7194

08:30

Networking

Free entry to the Singapore Zoo!

Enjoy a visit to the Singapore Zoo, ranked the #3 zoo in the world by TripAdvisor! Set in a rainforest environment, the Singapore Zoo is home to over 2,400 animals of over 300 species, 34 per cent of which are threatened. The park also boasts the world's first free-ranging orangutan habitat in a zoo. Only 40 complimentary tickets (worth SGD37 each) available on a first-come-first-served basis to registered conference participants, while stocks last. (more...)

Stream IDs:

7132

08:55

Masterclasses

During this masterclass, London-based media innovator and consultant, Juan Señor, will explore 11 specific business models for publishers to embrace for a diversified stream of revenues: some are tried and tested, while others require innovative thinking and editorial leadership. All point to a new way for news media to pay its bills in the digital age. (more...)

Speakers

09:00

Masterclasses

This masterclass for journalists reporting in volatile contexts and hazardous situations and their newsroom managers covers reporting from hostile environments, personal safety and preserving the dignity of victims of violence. Using scenarios from the field of forensic identification as well as virtual reality-based conflict-zone simulations, participants will learn how to ethically report on conflict while staying safe. (more...)

09:05

Masterclasses

Masterclass [FULL]: Science in the news: keeping the facts straight

The World Editors Forum is offering this masterclass to help identify the specific challenges around science and health journalism and develop workflows for fast, accurate and engaging reporting. Applicants must have at least 3 years' journalism experience and submit 2 recent pieces of work. Successful applicants will also receive full access to Publish Asia/Newsroom Summit Asia on 8-9 May. (Click to apply)

Moderator

Speakers

Publisher, Caixin Media; Professor, School of Communication and Design, Sun Yat-sen University

Stream IDs:

7080

7081

10:30

Publish Asia Track

Newsroom Summit Track

Break

Stream IDs:

7080

11:00

Publish Asia Track

Session 2A: New Businesses, New Opportunities

Diversification is key in a media landscape that has been massively disrupted and turned on its head. Find out more about the varied approaches publishers are adopting - through joint ventures, alliances and creating their own technology platforms - to boost revenues and acquire new audiences.

Moderator

From Publishing to TV: the Karangkraf Experience

Founded in 1978, the Karangkraf Media Group is the largest privately-held, family-run publishing group in Malaysia and one of the country's biggest. Its Sinar Harian daily publishes four regional editions and has a circulation of 100,000. Two other business groups in printing and Malay-language magazines/books generate the bulk of revenue. Its latest venture is a JV with Malaysian pay TV operator Astro to extend and produce content around 15 magazine titles for broadcast, to maximise monetisation potential from licensing, Adex, subscriptions and commerce. Astro has 21 million viewers across 70 percent of Malaysian households while Karangkraf has 15 million readers across its print, magazine publications and online media assets.

Speakers

Programmatic has been an oft-misunderstood word even today primarily due to the complexities involved in manning the buying machinery (the DSP) and even more on the publisher side due to the myriads of technology vendors on the supply side with varied models & promises of monetisation. In this landscape, is there room for a sustainable, scalable programmatic supply eco-system that could simplify the lives of both publishers and buyers alike? The answer may lie in publishers banding together to create such an environment. Hear more from SMX - the first premium programmatic exchange in Singapore - born through the coming together of two media giants in the country.

Speakers

Securing financial and editorial independence through tokenization

Drawing on his experience in both the media and blockchain business, Sonny Kwon discusses how media tokenization can be used to gamify news, increase reader engagement, and secure financial and editorial independence in an increasingly competitive media landscape.

Speakers

11:00

Newsroom Summit Track

Session 2B: The Evolving Digital-First Newsroom

So the print and digital (i.e. web, social, mobile/apps and video) teams have finally moved into the same newsroom, a central news hub set up in the middle where all key editors are seated. With the push towards being “digital first”, the need to streamline workflows and operations has never been greater, but is it happening? A candid look at the trials and errors, successes and silver linings of this work-in-progress.

Moderator

Newsroom of the future: how different is it?

Convergence. Superdesk. Can it really work? In the age of social media and the digital-first newsroom, placing all senior editors in one area seems like the logical solution to move away from the traditional print press setting. And with the increasingly widening roles of reporters and editors, and the blurring of lines between desks, it looks set to be that way. But is it really happening? With the widening of roles, new responsibilities and new skills to be acquired, roles with "foreign" job descriptions, previously unheard of in the newsroom, are cropping up. Welcome to the future of newsrooms.

Speakers

Chief Editor of CNA Digital, Jaime Ho, shares how this pan-Asian broadcaster has made the transition to the new digital reality, and how CNA has leveraged the best of visual, social and written story-telling.

Newsroom Summit Track

Networking Lunch

13:00

Publish Asia Track

Newsroom Summit Track

In this session, PUBLISH, Inc. will present a state-of-the-art content management system for newspaper businesses. Learn how PUBLISHsoft can assist publishers in launching their own cryptographic token and managing a reward system that promotes a participatory mode of news production and consumption.

Speakers

Hosted by

14:00

Publish Asia Track

Session 3A: In NewsMedia Ads We Trust

Latest studies out of the APAC region show a high level of consumer trust in TV, newspapers and news websites. Encouraging signs out of Australia show that this high level of trust can help stem the decline in print advertising.

Moderator

AdTrust3: Extending the Trust Halo

More than 90 per cent of Australians choose news media to stay up to date with the issues that matter most to their lives. A key factor that drives this continuing engagement with newsmedia is trust.
NewsMediaWorks' latest research into this hot topic shows how newsmedia is the most trusted of all mediums and how this trust halo extends from editorial content to advertisers. The research also delves deeper into how trust differs in key advertiser verticals, across age demographics, why it is important and how the insights from the study have been used to unite publishers in NewsMediaWorks' trade messaging: The Truth Builds Trust.

Speakers

AdTrust APAC Survey Results

This session will feature the results of region's largest such survey on the most and least trusted platforms involving 12 APAC countries. Be the first to view the findings of this unprecedented study!

Moderator

How Verificado created a new way of engaging young Mexicans during the elections.

The goal of Verificado was simple: to provide clear and credible information about the 2018 elections to the Mexican public, and limit the impact of mis- and disinformation on public discourse. That meant reaching people through WhatsApp by engaging them with content that was tackling misinformation head on as well as being engaging, entertaining and informative. Fergus Bell, co-founder of Pop-Up Newsroom and core Verificado partner, will explain how this came together.

Speakers

IDN Times: Shaping Indonesia's Future

The IDN Times team is scaling up its content through #hyperlocal, growing its community of 80,000 writers who produce over 5,000 published articles a month and creating product apps. It avoids platform dependency through the twin objectives of building content and community. Editor-in-Chief Uni Lubis on the strategy to grow this #1 digital media destination among the country's Millennials and Gen Z from 10 regional hyperlocal sites to 33 by the end of 2019.

Speakers

Audience and Community Take Centre Stage

World Editors Forum Executive Director Cherilyn Ireton offers a sneak peek into the latest findings from the group's upcoming Trends in Newsrooms Report out in June. Find out how publishers are shaping their audience and community strategies and teams with examples from the World Digital Media Awards.

Speakers

15:30

Publish Asia Track

Newsroom Summit Track

Break

Stream IDs:

7080

16:00

Publish Asia Track

Session 4A: Pricing Strategies For Maximum Profits

Setting the right price can make all the difference between winning new subscribers or losing loyal long-time paying print and digital readers. How much is too much? What value and bundles can publishers offer to hit that sweet spot? Speakers share the factors that go into pricing considerations, marketing tactics and attractive add-ons to ensure subscribers feel they are getting value for their money.

Moderator

Bisnis Indonesia’s digital subscriptions bet

With a cover price of 80 US cents and at 32 pages, the Bisnis Indonesia Daily broadsheet is Indonesia’s most expensive daily paper and the thickest. It started charging the same cover price for its e-paper three years ago and releases it at midnight as a perk to its e-paper subscribers. President Director Lulu Terianto shares how this 33-year-old publication has become a market leader which does not believe in discounted pricing and the business strategies behind its upcoming mobile phone app.

Speakers

16:00

Newsroom Summit Track

Session 4B: New Products, New Jobs: Bridging Newsroom Gaps

Trying to fit square pegs into round holes? For years, newsrooms tried to get existing staff to take on new responsibilities and new skills. Fast forward to today, newsrooms have started hiring for new job roles which were not even imaginable five years ago. What are some of these new positions and where do they fit within the newsroom hierarchy?

Speakers

Building a newsroom to serve and engage its readers

SCMP’s efforts towards digital transformation have led to the rapid expansion of its product development, technology, digital, data and editorial teams with world-class talents. Its newsroom is striving hard to build digital platforms that best allow for meaningful engagement with readers. Hear from SCMP's Zuraidah Ibrahim on how newsroom capabilities are being better harnessed to serve its global readership.

Speakers

Preparing for a fast-changing newsroom focused on collaboration, innovation and trust

With a growing number of organisations starting to collaborate with other organisations or with different teams in their own company, newsroom staff often temporarily find themselves performing functions or roles they couldn't have predicted, let alone train for. Furthermore, journalists covering major news events are increasingly finding themselves working at the cutting edge of newsroom innovation, in a world where trust is talked about at every turn. How does a journalist prepare for a future workplace they can't predict and how can we start to normalise "niche" skills that will undoubtedly become mainstream? Fergus Bell outlines the steps to take.

Speakers

18:15

Publish Asia Track

Newsroom Summit Track

Networking

Asian Media Awards Dinner

Celebrate Asia’s best in news publishing over a delicious dinner at the stunning Singapore Flyer. Find out who the winners are across the 15 award categories, including Best in Design, Best in Editorial Content, Best in Print and Best in Photojournalism.

Launched in 2008, Singapore Flyer is one of Singapore’s most iconic landmarks in the idyllic Marina Bay. Come day or night, experience the splendour of Singapore's cosmopolitan cityscape and beyond, 165 metres from above.

Enjoy a complimentary 30-minute scenic pre-dinner flight, which includes FLYER 360+, an interactive in-capsule virtual tour of Singapore. Be treated to more than just the view onboard the largest giant observation wheel in Asia!

May 09Thursday

09:00

Publish Asia Track

Newsroom Summit Track

Session 5: Day 2 Opening Keynote

Moderator

The Way Forward: How to Save the News Business & Why Only Journalism will Save Journalism

Based on its annual book: 'Innovation in News Media' - the industry's barometer published in conjunction with WAN-IFRA for more than two decades - this fascinating and thought-provoking presentation will demonstrate that news publishers can survive and thrive in the digital age through content-driven innovation.
During the presentation, we will travel to every continent and size of market to learn how others publishers are innovating editorially and in their business models. The cases demonstrate that a 'back-to-basics' journalism-first strategy is the only way news media can cut through the noise and attract paying readers, bigger ad revenue and more influence than ever before.

Speakers

10:00

Publish Asia Track

Newsroom Summit Track

Break

Stream IDs:

7080

10:30

Publish Asia Track

Session 6A: Events, Experiences & Engagement

Live journalism and a variety of events have proven effective in rewarding loyal readers and wooing new ones. Let’s take a leaf from the pages of these publishers who are bringing events to the next level.

Moderator

Speakers

Profitable poetry, films (and flops): the Lake House experience

Sri Lanka’s Oscars, profitable poetry, reader-chosen cricketers. Savan Wijewardene of Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited, also known as Lake House - Sri Lanka’s largest publishing group, shares their learnings in terms of leveraging their brand, sales force and physical premises to create sustainable event platforms. He takes an honest look at what worked, what didn’t, and what might work in the future.

Speakers

Essential ingredients for successful events

From book fairs and cultural activities to business forums and community outreach programmes, Singapore Press Holding’s Chinese Media Group Managing Editor, Loh Woon Yen, shares how the Group taps on the unique strengths across its brands to organise events that are relevant to readers and generate value for the publisher and sponsors.

Speakers

10:30

Newsroom Summit Track

Session 6B: Driving Editorial Decisions With Data

In the old days, the “editor’s instinct” was everything. These days, this instinct is supplemented with hard data and artificial intelligence to tell stories better and distribute them in a smarter and more effective manner.

Moderator

Useful Data for Editorial Decision-making - a Prelude to Full Mobile Personalisation

iTromsø Editor-in-Chief and CEO, Stig Jakobsen, will explain how his news group systematically gathers information which helps them make editorial decisions, and how they went from there to becoming the first newspaper in Europe with full personalisation of the mobile front: what works, what didn’t, and the adjustments made.

Speakers

Driving Editorial Decisions With Data and Product Development

From editorial-driven to data-driven. How an 84-year-old vernacular newspaper in Singapore revamped its website and transformed itself to cater to the needs of its digital audience through data analytics and product development.

Speakers

Data-Driven Journalism in Myanmar - the Challenges and Opportunities in a Developing Country

Data visualisation designer and open data advocate Yan Naung Oak will present examples of impactful data stories he has worked on with Myanmar newsrooms and highlight the challenges faced, including getting access to data, lack of data literacy, and security concerns.

Speakers

12:00

Publish Asia Track

Newsroom Summit Track

Networking Lunch

Stream IDs:

7080

7081

12:30

Publish Asia Track

Newsroom Summit Track

Lunch session: How do Subscriptions Actually Work?

Converting visitors into subscribers isn't always easy – yet in a modern media landscape it's become increasingly vital to success. Join us for a session on How Do Subscriptions Actually Work? to learn how to turn users into subscribers through insights from Piano's proprietary benchmark data and real-world case studies of leading content producers.

Speakers

Hosted by

13:30

Publish Asia Track

Voice has been touted as the next big medium for news. While this spells good news for broadcasters, what must text-driven publishers do to build up their capabilities and produce appealing audio content for listeners? Early adopters share their tips and key learnings from their pilot projects so far.

Moderator

Head of External Affairs, Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation / President of United Print Media Group (UPMG) Philippines

Taking Podcasting Beyond the Human Voice

Ernest Luis, Head of Podcast Productions at Singapore Press Holdings describes how The Straits Times and The Business Times are offering podcasts in various formats and on different platforms, including mobile, and the strategy to get into more ear buds.

Speakers

Applying Smart Tech to Smart Talk

Holly Wainwright, Head of Content at Mamamia, creators of Australia’s first daily ‘smart’ podcast, on how marrying the art of connection with the science of cutting-edge tech is crucial to a sustainable audio strategy.

Speakers

13:30

Newsroom Summit Track

Session 7B: The Press Under Pressure: Safeguarding Truth & Trust In The Media

In a world where trust in media is at all-time lows and even reputable media are vilified and discredited by those in power, the challenge to weed out misinformation/ disinformation, grow one’s credibility and regain lost audiences has never been greater. Hear editors in the region discuss how they tackle these challenges in their respective countries in this hour-long conversation moderated by veteran broadcaster, Teymoor Nabili.

14:30

Publish Asia Track

Newsroom Summit Track

As news organizations (re)embrace subscriptions and paywalls to supplement advertising, thus going back to our industry's dual-revenue origins, how can we move to a 'multiple revenue streams' strategy for sustainable media businesses and newsrooms?

Moderator

Speakers

Professor of Professional Practice and Director, Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics & Business Journalism, Columbia University, USA

Stream IDs:

7080

7081

7194

16:30

Publish Asia Track

Newsroom Summit Track

Networking

Singapore Press Holdings Newsroom Visit

Location:

SPH News Centre, 1000 Toa Payoh North, Singapore 318994

Get an insider's glimpse of the digital transformation underway at Singapore Press Holdings, one of the largest media companies in Southeast Asia. Learn how editorial decisions are informed by data and find out how print, digital and radio operations work together in the newly renovated newsrooms of The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, SPH Radio, the integrated marketing department, and the brand new multimedia studio. Places are limited.

May 10Friday

Stream IDs:

7194

09:00

Networking

Exclusive tour of the Singapore Botanic Gardens - Singapore's UNESCO World Heritage Site

Established in 1859 by the Agri-Horticultural Society, the Singapore Botanic Gardens was designed by Lawrence Niven, whose work reflected the English Garden style that influenced the emergence of numerous English landscape gardens and public parks from the 18th century until this period. Today, this layout, as well as its historic 19th and 20th century buildings, remains almost entirely intact. Learn about the Gardens' rich history and its role as an internationally-recognised institution of tropical botany and horticulture with a collection of over 650,000 specimens.

This special two-hour tour for conference participants and their guests includes a visit to the National Orchid Garden with more than 700 species and 3,000 hybrids. Its VIP Garden displays hybrids named after famous personalities such as Nelson Mandela, Princess Diana, Margaret Thatcher and many world leaders. Also included is a walk through Gardens' latest 10-hectare attraction called the Learning Forest, part of its Tyersall-Gallop extension (Tyersall Park was the site of a fictional mansion estate in Kevin Kwan's "Crazy Rich Asians" trilogy). Walk through lowland rainforest and restored freshwater wetland habitats, marvel at huge palms, epiphytes and climbers from an elevated 8-metre high boardwalk on the SPH Walk of Giants and peer down at the crowns of trees forming the forest's Canopy Web.

In the event of bad weather, participants will visit the Botany Centre which houses the Singapore Botanic Gardens Heritage Museum, Singapore Herbarium and an orchid breeding laboratory.